The first two days of IIT Delhi’s annual fest Rendezvous have been full of fun-filled activities and statement performances

Palash Sen and DJ Bhaduri perform along with their band Euphoria, on day two of IIT Delhi’s annual fest Rendezvous (2016). (Manoj Verma/HT)

The dhoom pichak at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s fest, Rendezvous 2016 was one helluva experience for youngsters attending the annual fest. Coming to stage after much-wait, the band Euphoria’s lead singer Palash Sen soon made the crowd shout ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and in quick succession announced, “We dedicate this show tonight to soldiers who are standing on the border. And for Pakistan we would like to say this (shows a fist).”

The band was performing for the fourth time at IIT, and Sen didn’t mind flattering the IITians apart from making them groove to his music. He said during the performance, “After DU’s Lady Shri Ram College for Women, IIT Delhi was the second college to invite us to perform and since then this is our fourth and the maximum number of times we have performed at any college.”

Lead singer of the band Euphoria, Palash Sen, during the performance.
(Manoj Verma/HT)

He added, “I went to a medical college, and can say that jo ladka-ladki IIT-JEE clear kar sakta hai, use achcha koi bhi nahi (that boy-girl who can clear IIT-JEE, there’s no one better than them)!”

The act of Euphoria was the highlight of day two and drew massive young crowd from colleges across the city, including Delhi University. The stage was set by the four bands who competed in the Hindi rock band competition Spectrum. Post this, the wait for the final showdown by Euphoria was made worth by the vocalists of the band TMKC (Teri Music Ki Chahat). With their versions of popular numbers such as Muqabala Muqabala, they kept the crowd entertained.

Enthusiastic crowd at IIT Delhi switched on mobile flashlights to ring in the countdown for Euphoria’s performance.
(Manoj Verma/HT)

Even on day one, street plays by various colleges and beat boxing competition kept the audiences’ adrenaline rush high. The fun factor continued by Blitzkrieg – English rock band competition, which had the crowd head-banging. The love for Blitzkrieg was visible in its audience which comprised not just college but even school students. Kavya Vignesh, a class seven student and Urvi Butola, a class eight student were among these. Vignesh says, “This was our first metal performance. We have specially come with our families for this event. And it’s so cool! We can’t wait for Drowning Pool. They’re my favourite band!”

One of the performing bands The Forbidden Ritual, had an embarrassing moment during Blitzkrieg, when its vocalist Shourya Mehta addressed the IIT Delhi crowd as “IIT Guwahati”. The error elicited some boos and jests from the crowd.